Basque is the last surviving Paleo-European language spoken indigenously in Europe, predating the Indo-European languages of the Bronze Age invasion of Europe from the Black Sea by pastoralists whose descendant languages dominate the continent today. Basque is spoken by the Basques and other residents of the Basque Country, a region that straddles the westernmost Pyrenees in adjacent parts of northern Spain and southwestern France. Linguistically, Basque is classified as a language isolate, as a relationship to any of the other known extinct pre-Indo-European languages of Europe has not been established, nor is it related to the later arriving Indo-European languages. The Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, the Basque Country. The Basque language is spoken by 28.4% (751,500) of Basques in all territories. Of these, 93.2% (700,300) are in the Spanish area of the Basque Country and the remaining 6.8% (51,200) are in the French portion.
In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a "father", often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The concept of "sky father" may also be taken to include Sun gods with similar characteristics, such as Ra. The concept is complementary to an "earth mother".
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people. The Basque Country is located in the western Pyrenees, straddling the border between France and Spain on the coast of the Bay of Biscay.
In Basque mythology, Sugaar is the male half of a pre-Christian Basque deity associated with storms and thunder. He is normally imagined as a dragon or serpent. Unlike his female consort, Mari, there are very few remaining legends about Sugaar. The basic purpose of his existence is to periodically join with Mari in the mountains to generate the storms.
Mari, also called Mari Urraca, Anbotoko Mari, and Murumendiko Dama, is the main goddess of the pre-Christian Basque mythology. She is married to the god Sugaar. Legends connect her to the weather: when she and Maju travel together hail will fall, her departures from her cave will be accompanied by storms or droughts, and which cave she lives in at different times will determine dry or wet weather: wet when she is in Anboto; dry when she is elsewhere. Other places where she is said to dwell include the chasm of Murumendi, the cave of Gurutzegorri (Ataun), Aizkorri and Aralar, although it is not always possible to be certain which Basque legends should be considered as the origin.
Mairu, also called Maideak, Mairiak, Saindi Maidi, Intxisu in the Bidasoa valley are creatures of Basque mythology. They were giants who built dolmens or harrespil. Like the dolmens, they are only found in mountains. They are often associated with lamia, though these are known in all the Basque Country.
In Basque mythology, Gaueko is the spirit of the night. He does not allow humans to do certain works outside the house during the night. He especially punishes all those who try to show off as brave in the night, boasting of not fearing the darkness. He is considered to be a devil in some accounts, a jentil or gentilic divinity in others. In some cases he makes his presence felt as a gust of wind, as he pronounces these words: Gaua Gauekoarentzat, eguna egunezkoarentzat. Sometimes he appears in the shape of a cow, sometimes in that of a monster.
In Basque mythology, Basajaun is a huge, hairy hominid dwelling in the woods. They were thought to build megaliths, protect flocks of livestock, and teach skills such as agriculture and ironworking to humans.
Urtzi is an ancient Basque language term which is believed to either represent an old common noun for the sky, or to have been a name for a pre-Christian sky deity.
Amalur, also known as Ama Lurra was the goddess of the earth in the religion of the ancient Basque people. She was the mother of Ekhi, the sun, and Ilazki, the moon. She is also believed to not only be the goddess of the earth, but the earth itself.
Tartaro, Tartalo, or Torto in Basque mythology, is an enormously strong one-eyed giant very similar to the Greek Cyclops that Odysseus faced in Homer's Odyssey. He is said to live in caves in the mountains and catches young people in order to eat them; in some accounts he eats sheep also.
Communist Movement of Euskadi was originally the branch of the Communist Movement (MC) in Basque Country and Navarre, Spain. EMK was previously known as ETA Berri, a splinter group of ETA. EMK separated itself from MC in 1983. In 1991 EMK merged with LKI and formed Zutik in Basque Country. In Navarre EMK took part in forming Batzarre. Some of its most prominent leaders were Patxi Iturrioz, Eugenio del Río, Rosa Olivares Txertudi, Milagros Rubio, Jesús Urra Bidaurre and the brothers Javier and Ignacio Álvarez Dorronsoro.
Andrés Ortiz-Osés was a Spanish philosopher. He was the founder of symbolic hermeneutics, a philosophical trend that gave a symbolic twist to north European hermeneutics.
Although the first instances of coherent Basque phrases and sentences go as far back as the San Millán glosses of around 950, the large-scale damage done by periods of great instability and warfare, such as the clan wars of the Middle Ages, the Carlist Wars and the Spanish Civil War, led to the scarcity of written material predating the 16th century.
Salazarese is the Basque dialect of the Salazar Valley of Navarre, Spain.
Luis C. Nuñez Astrain is a linguist and sociologist, and was editor of the newspaper Egin.
There are a number of Basque breeds and cultivars. These are domesticated animals that have been bred - or plant species cultivated - for particular traits and features by Basque people in the Basque Country.
Basque centers are associative organizations that appeared in the end of the 19th century in cities that have really an important presence of Basque emigration, with the purpose of helping each other and keeping links with Basque culture and homeland. They are also meeting points for the Basque people who live all around the world far away from their land.
Akerbeltz or Aker is a spirit in the folk mythology of the Basque people. It is said to live inside the land and is believed to have as many elves as servants. In Christianity, Akerbeltz is considered the live image of the devil, performing sexual abuses against Christians.
Imanol Larzabal Goñi, known as Imanol, was a Basque Spanish singer and composer, and a champion of Basque language and culture. He went into exile from the Basque Country twice: first during the Franco dictatorship, and again in the last years of his life due to conflict with Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), a violent Basque separatist organization.
